Yemen Cholera Outbreak: 100,000 Children Infected Since Start of 2019

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (April 24, 2019) – More than 100,000 suspected cases of cholera have been reported among children under the age of 15 in Yemen since the start of the year —more than twice the number during the same period in 2018.

Children account for nearly half (45 percent) of all the new cases. Altogether, there were 236,550 cases of suspected cholera between January 1 and April 19, 2019. Of these, 105,384 were in children under 15. Almost half these cases were recorded in the last month alone — nine times as many as in the same period last year.

Save the Children is warning that recent heavy rains, flash floods, fuel shortages and ongoing fighting despite the first steps toward a peace process in Stockholm last December, are adding to the chaos of four years of war to create perfect conditions for cholera to spread faster and further in the coming months.

Fuel shortages and a spike in fuel prices are limiting the pumping of sewage, clean water supply and garbage collection. Many families have been unable to take their children to health facilities because they cannot afford the soaring cost of transport. Many people rely on buying clean water from trucks, but with the rising fuel prices, the cost is increasing, forcing some people to turn to dirty water sources.

Save the Children has warned that in places where fighting is continuing, the numbers of cholera cases could increase dramatically. It is feared that in Hajjah, in the northwest of the country, fighting could cut access to the only water source for 200,000 people who are already vulnerable to the disease because many have been displaced by conflict and face high levels of food insecurity.

After an outbreak infected more than one million people in 2017, the disease was partially contained during 2018.

In February, the international community pledged $2.6 billion to the response in Yemen — 65 percent of the money needed to meet humanitarian needs across the country.

Yet two months later, those pledges have largely failed to materialize. Only 4 percent of the funds needed for the health response have made it to agencies on the ground. For water, sanitation and hygiene, which will also be crucial in combating the spread of the disease, the figure is 10 percent.

“Cholera is once again raging in many parts of the country, threatening children and families already brutalized by years of conflict,” said Tamer Kirolos, Save the Children’s Country Director in Yemen,

"Less than four months into 2019, 100,000 children have already been infected.”

“This surge is yet more evidence that as long as the war continues there will be no end to the suffering of Yemen’s children. Gains made against the disease in 2018, have unraveled in the face of relentless violence. More people have been forced to flee their homes. Hunger and malnutrition are rampant. Vital health and sanitation services have also been debilitated.”

“And yet millions of dollars that were promised are failing to reach those who need it. The international community must disburse these funds faster so we can scale up to treat and contain the disease,” continued Kirolos.

“But only when all parties come together to find a peaceful solution and end the war will children be safe from cholera for good. The progress made in Stockholm cannot be allowed to stall while so many lives hang in the balance.”

“All parties should implement the Stockholm Agreement in good faith and return to the negotiating table to agree to a nationwide ceasefire and political settlement to finally end the conflict.”

Without treatment, cholera can kill within hours. Malnourished children have substantially reduced immune systems and are at least three times more likely to die if they contract cholera. Diarrheal diseases like cholera are also themselves a significant cause of malnutrition.

Two million children under the age of five will need treatment for acute malnutrition this year, according to the United Nations.

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